McPhee would later claim in Australian Muscle Car magazine that an attempt to sabotage his Monaro was made the night before the race.

When he came out on race morning to fill the car with petrol, a number of tree leaves floated to the top of the filler.

Driving with Mulholland who again only drove one lap, the McPhee Falcon finished a close second at Bathurst to the Colin Bond/Tony Roberts HDT Monaro GTS350.

Many, including HDT boss Harry Firth, believe that if not for an early pit stop to change a tyre after a clash with another car resulting in a late stop for fuel as they were out of sequence, McPhee and Mulholland would have won in '69 and made it back to back Bathurst 500's.

Even though his car was still running near perfectly at the end of the 500 miles, McPhee finished second after following team orders not to pass his teammate, lead driver Allan Moffat.